Encyclopedia of World Cultures Volume 2 - Oceania - P ppsx

"People and Their Products in South Pentecost." In Vanuatu: Politics, Economics, and Ritual in Is-land Melanesia, edited by Michael Allen, 269-293.. The term 'Pintupi" refers to a group

Pentecost 261

Williams, Francis Edgar (1932-1933) 'Trading Voyages

Williams, Francis Edgar (1936) Bull-roarers in the Papuan

Gulf Territory ofPapuaAnthropologyReport no 17.Port

Moresby: Government Printer

Williams, FrancisEdgar (1940) DramaofOrokolo:The

So-cial andCeremonialLife oftheElema.TerritoryofPapua

An-thropology Reportno 18 Oxford: ClarendonPress

RICHARD SCAGLION

ETHNONYMS:Bunlap, Pornowol, Sa, South Ragans

Orientation Idenificaion TheSa,who are the focus of this summary, live on the southern part of Pentecost Island in northern Vanuatu Pentecost was so called by the French explorer LouisAntoinede Bougainville,whosightedit on Whitsun-dayin 1768."Sa" means 'what" inthe language spokenby thepeople,whothemselves call thelanguage 'Lokit,"which means "the inside ofus all." The Sa have previouslybeen called the Pornowoltribe, and the region has been knownas South Ragaaswell«South Pentecost

Locaio Pentecost is anisland60kilometerslong by12 kilometers'wide, located at 15°30' to 16° S and 168°30'E The landmassispredominantlybasaltic,with afew limestone ridgesformedbytheupliftingofcoralreefs.The eastern coast

isprecipitous,fringedbyextensivecoral reefs,and windward, with fewsafe anchorages The western coast is flatand lee-ward, with coral reefs, extensivesandybeaches, and good an-chorages.The central part of the islandis mountainousand covered with dense primary rain forest Many rivers and streamsflow from the mountains to the coast, especially on the western side, andthey are the primary sources of fresh water Temperatures range between 22° and 30° C, and about 400centimetersofrainfallsinanaverage year It is typ-ically cooler and drier May-October and hotter and wetter November-April when tropical cyclones occur Southern Pentecost experiences occasional falls ofvolcanic ash from Benbow Crateron nearby Ambrym Island

Demography In 1979 the population of Pentecost was 9,361, about 1,700ofwhomwereSaspeakers. Most Sa are

resident locally, although young men in particular are in-volved in circular labor migration to the towns of Santo and PortVilaaswellasplantationselsewhere.Afew Sa have be-comepermanent migrantstotownsorotherruralcenters to workforchurches, the government, or private companies or

to pursuehighereducation

Linguisic Affiladon Sa is classified in the North and Central Vanuatu Group of Austronesian languages Al-though it had no script prior to colonization, it has now been written down throughtheworkof missionlinguists and local cultural workers Most speakers of Sa are also fluent in Bislama, the lingua franca of Vanuatu, and increasingly younger Sa attainverbal and written fluency in English or French, taught in church and state schools

History and Cultural Relations The first contacts between ni-Vanuatu and Europeans took place in theseventeenth and eighteenthcenturies, but there was initial reluctance to trade with European navigators Fromtheearly nineteenth century, Europeans sought whales, sandalwood, andbiche-de-mer in the islands with more suc-cess In 1839 the London Missionary Society, and later the Presbyterians, set up missions in the southernislands and were followed by Anglicans, Marists, and, in the twentieth century,Seventh-Day Adventists and the Church of Christ

262 Pentecost

From 1857 thousands of men and some women were

re-cruitedaslaborerstoworkonplantationsinNewCaledonia,

Queensland, Fiji,and islandsinVanuatu In 1906therivalry

between British and French influences was resolved bythe

creationof the Condominium of theNewHebrides

Indige-nouscash cropping of copra started inthe late 1920s, and

during World War11theislandofSanto was amajor staging

base for American forces Beginning in the late 1960s

anticolonial and nationalist sentiments crystallized, and in

1980 Vanuatu achieved political independence

Settlements The pattern of settlementinSouthPentecostincludes both

nucleated villages anddispersedhomestead patterns In the

traditionalist orkastom villages,suchasBunlapinthe

south-east, the predominant pattern is nucleated, with houses

strung out down a ridge and communal men's houses and

dancinggroundsatthehighestelevation.Intraditionalist

vil-lages the preferred materials and house designs are

indige-nous:earth floors,bamboo-pole walls,andsago-palmthatch

roofs on arectangular frame Each of these dwellings typically

contains asingleroom,but within thisroomatransverselog

divides thecookingfires of women and childrenatthe front

from menattheback The men's housesareof thesame

ma-terials and design, buttheyaremuchlargerandhavea series

of firesformenofdifferent rank Thesetraditionalstructures

are complemented by more novel sleeping houses that are

raised on stilts, with woven bamboo floors and walls and

thatchroofs Thisisthe usualstyleof housesinChristian

set-tlements; today, however, theyaresometimes made of

con-crete andcorrugatediron with several rooms Mostvillages

are connected by paths, although between coastal

settle-ments,especiallyin thewest,peoplemay travelbyseain

out-rigger canoes,dinghies withoutboard motors,oroccasionally

motorized launches.Onthelevelwesterncoastthereis a

ve-hicular road stretching from Lonoror toWanur

Economy Subsistenceand CommercialActivities TheSaspeakers

subsistedprecolonially byswiddenhorticulture, fishing, and

forest foraging The maincrops are still taro and yams,

al-though thesearecomplemented bysweetpotatoes, manioc,

arrowroot, sago, andbreadfruit.Someleafygreenvegetables,

sugarcane,squashes, melons, andtomatoes aregrown.They

fish extensivelyinthe coastalwatersoff the fringing reefs and

infreshwaterstreamsfor fish, lobsters, shrimps, crabs, eels,

andoctopuses They have extensive grovesoffruitand nut

trees and they also forage forwild greens, ferns, algae, and

mushrooms in theforest, wherethey hunt birds, flying foxes,

snakes, and stick insects They herd pigs, which are

con-sumed on ritualoccasionsonly Kavaiscultivated; onlymen

maydrink kavainthe traditionalistvillages,whereittendsto

be reservedforhospitality andritualoccasions In some

An-glican andCatholic communitieswomenmay drinkkava, but

they do not doso asroutinelyasmen;inChurch ofChrist

vil-lages its use istotallyproscribed.Traditionalist and Christian

communitiesdiverge greatlyintheir linkstothe cash

econ-omy.The latterhave converted farmorelandtocopra, cacao,

and coffee andare moredependentonintroduced foods such

as rice, tinnedfish, meat,biscuits, andtea.Some cattle are beingraisedcommercially,but mostarekilledforlocalfeast consumption

Industrial Arts Apart from indigenous architecture, a range of tools, weapons, and ritual artifacts are produced The precolonial tool kit included wooden and stone axes, adzes, shell scrapers, digging sticks, clubs, bows and arrows, and fishing spears, but these items mainly have been sup-planted by modemsteel implements purchased from local or urban stores The olddigging stick persists, however, and in traditionalist villagespeople still use bamboo vessels for cook-ing and carrycook-ingwaterandcarved wooden foodplatters lined with banana leaves for eating But even there cans, plastic buckets, kettles, pots,and pans are becoming more common Outrigger canoes are still fashioned by hollowing out tree trunks and lashingthem with lianas Slit gongs, spears, clubs, and shelters arestill produced for ceremonial purposes An ensemble ofceremonial masks and headdresses made in the past are todayrarely madeforusebut more often forpurchase

by museums, artcollectors, ortourists In addition to these wooden crafts made by men, women soften and weave pandanus andbarktofashion clothing and mats for sleeping andexchange at birth, marriage, circumcision, and death In traditionalist villages women wear fiber skirts made of pandanus or bananaspathes and men wear woven pandanus penis wrappers andbark belts Elsewhere, women'sattire is typically a Mother Hubbard (a loose dress) of skirt and blouse, while mentypically wear shirts and shorts or trousers

or, more rarely, wraparound skirts

Trade Inprecolonial times Pentecost was part of an in-tensive regional trade system with the neighboring islands of Ambrym,Malekula, and Ambae Items traded included yams, pigs, mats,ochers for body painting and sculpture, and ritual forms such as dancesand chants Modem trade is focused on the purchase of imported commodities at small local stores with moneyderivedfrom cash cropping or wage labor There are no localmarkets such as those in the towns of Port Vila and Santo

Division of Labor The sexual division of labor is pro-nounced Menexclusively hunt and fishfrom canoes, while women engage only in reef and river fishing Men carve wooden artifacts; women weave pandanus and palm leaves Menconstructhouseframes; women make thatch battens for roofs Womenlookafter small pigs and sows, while men nur-ture highlyvalued tusked boars Agriculturalworkisshared, although men do more of the fencing and clearing and women more of the weeding and harvesting; however, regard-ing yams, men alone can plant the seed yams and women alone can mound the topsoil Household maintenance and child care are fairly evenly divided between the sexes There arealso divisions ofrituallabor, with part-time practitioners that include male priests (who initiate agricultural cycles), medical diviners, midwives, sorcerers, and, in the past, warri-ors and war diviners

LandTenure Primary rightsderive from agnatic relation-ship with afounding ancestor who claimed prior occupation, although secondary rightsaregranted to agnatic descendants

oflater arrivals, who were given land by the original occu-pants Land,like fruit and nut trees, is inherited patrilineally and shared betweensons and daughters Rights are held in

Pentecost 263

perpetuitybymale agnatic descendants and for theirlifetimes

byfemales Womencannotpassonnatal landtotheir

chil-dren.Landrightsmayalsopassmatrilaterallyif paymentsin

pigs and mats are notmadeatdeathby theagnatestothe

matrilateralkin of the deceased.Temporaryrightsof usufruct

maybegranted toaffinesorthosewithoutlocally available

land Retainingownershipoflanddependsoncontinualuse

and thus continual residence Controloverthe distribution

of landisultimatelyvestedintheseniormale ofadescent

cat-egory called buluhim

Kinship Kin Groups and Descent The major kin category is

buluhim, which is best translated as "house' rather than

"clan." Thesehousesaregeographically dispersed,but there

are also localized patrilineages The majoremphasis in

de-scent ispatrilineal,but therearecrucial debtstomatrilateral

kin thatcycleovergenerations

Kinship Terminology ACrow-type systemisemployed,

which is predicated on twobasic rules: the equivalence of

agnatesof alternate generations and theequivalenceof

same-sexsiblings.For amale,all agnates of his father'sfather's

gen-eration are thus'brother."

Marriage and Family

Marriage Fromtheviewpoint of themale,marriageis

ide-ally with the same 'house" from which the father's mother

came; marriage between agnates should be avoided The

mothersofspousesshould be agnates ofadjacentandnot

al-ternate generations Marriageshave always been primarily

ef-fectedthroughthe formalexchangeofbride-wealth,but the

alternatives ofelopementorinfant betrothalwere more

prev-alentinthe past Bride-wealthis nowpredominantlypaidin

cash, with token payments of pigs and mats, the traditional

components.Only Churchof Christ convertstotallyoutlaw

bride-wealth Althoughmarriagesinbothtraditionalistand

Christianvillagesaretosome extent"arranged," the desires

of prospective spouses are also crucial Most adultsarenow in

monogamous marriages,butathird of all adultmen in

tradi-tionalistvillageshaveat sometimebeenpolygynous.

Monog-amy is mandatory for Christianconverts On marriage the

coupletypically (85percent) livepatrilocally,with about 10

percent livingneolocally Because marriages areoften

con-tracted within a village, women oftenremain closeto their

natalkin Divorce is rare, constitutingonly5 percent of all

unions contracted

DomesticUnit The domesticunit istypicallyan

elemen-taryfamily,withaminoritybeingpatrilaterallyextended and

a tiny percentage consisting ofa sole parent with children

Where a man ispolygynous,his wives usually maintain

sepa-ratedwellings Now men sleep and eat more routinely in the

domesticdwelling, using the male clubhouse as a refectory

anddormitoryon rareritual occasions Suchexclusivist male

clubhouses no longer exist in Christian communities, and

therehusbands andwives eatandsleep together rather than

separately

Inherhance Inheritance of house sites and household

ef-fects ispredominantlypatrilineal,withagreatershare goingto

theeldest son Pigs,however,arenotinherited butarekilledat

the deaths of their owners Land, fishing grounds, and fruit

grovesare patrilineally inherited Ritual powers of priests and divinersare typically inherited patrilineally by males, but the spiritual skills of sorcery, weather magic, love magic, andwar magic may bepurchased, though often by close male kin Socialization Although children are primarily nurturedby their parents, eldersiblings, andgrandparents, there is much communal socialization andinterhousehold visiting.The pri-maryvalues imparted are those of respect for rank and age, the centrality of hard work, cooperation, and consensus Mostchildren in Christianvillages, andsome intraditionalist ones, are currently inschool

Sociopolitical Organization

SocialOrganization. Social organizationis based on the intersection of the traditionalhierarchicalprinciples ofrank, seniority, andgender Theseprinciplesarebeingtransformed

bythe impact of the commodity economy, so that class differ-encesare emerging Suchdistinctionsare mostpronounced

inurban centers, but theyarealso apparent in rural regions, although these novel inequalities interpenetrate indigenous patterns of rank

PoliticalOrganization. Precolonial politics were based on achieved rank in an institution called "the graded society." Through theexchange and sacrifice of pigs(including tusked boars),mats, and othervaluables, men (andinsomeplaces women)assumed titles in ahierarchically ordered series This arrangement conferred on men more than women sacred powers enhancing their capacity to grow crops, nurture tusked boars, control the weather, and perform rituals con-trolling human sexuality, health, and fecundity But such powers were also considered to be dangerous andpotentially destructive This beliefnecessitated segregated commensal-ity, whereby men ate separately from women and children, andhigh-ranking men from those of low rank High-ranking men exerted greater political influence without having as-suredauthority In the modem state of Vanuatu, the symbol-ismofthe graded society is still employed in the imagery of thestate, and theimportance of high rank permeates to the nationallevelthrough the institution of the National Coun-cil ofChiefs, which givesadvice on matters ofkastom (tradi-tionalculture) Thechiefs in this council are, however, those createdandrecognized by the state, ratherthan necessarily those with locally recognized high rank

Social Control Although there are official courts and asssessors that are part of the national legal stucture, disputes-which arise mostfrequently over land, marriage, and pigs-are in fact usually resolved in informal village courts.These courts areprotracted meetings that try to effect consensus Men rather thanwomen are vocal in such meet-ings, and those who speak most and exert most influence tend to beolder andhigh-ranking Decisions at such meet ings arethought to be binding on all in the community and mayoccasion the payment of fines

Conflict Violentconflict is rare, and domestic violence is almostnonexistent Only on very rare occasions do people re-sort tooutsideagencies ofpolice,prisons, orasylums to con-troloffenders This current state of affairs is a major depar-ture from precolonial practice, when warfare was endemic between villages and violent resolutions of conflict were frequent

264 Pentecost

Religion and Expressive Culture

Religious Beliefs Thevast majority of ni-Vanuatutoday

are Christians affiliated with Protestant and Catholic

de-nominations, although beliefs and practices involve novel

reworkingsofboth Christianity and ancestral religion.Inthe

past, religioncenteredon the sacred character of ancestors

The Saspeakers thought their ancestors were primordial

cre-atorbeings responsiblefor the natural and the social world

There was no easytranslation of these beliefs into

monotheis-ticChristianity Theancestors arethoughtstillto exert a

con-tinual influence in the world of theliving, andtheliving are

often engaged in attemptstopleaseorplacate remote or

re-cent ancestors.Thegraded societyispredicatedon adesire to

approach a stateof ancestral power As well as the

supernat-ural powerscredited to thedeadand theliving, other

super-naturalentities arethoughtto exist Insouth Pentecost, these

include the spirits of uncultivated ancestral groves, spirits of

the men's houses, dwarf spiritsinhabiting the forest and

river-beds, and a kindof ogre with a special appetite for young

children

Religious Practitioners Ancestral religion employed

some part-time specialists, including priests ofagricultural

fertility, weather, and war, aswellassorcerers anddiviners

Despitethe influence ofChristianity, priests and sorcerers are

still identified, even in Christian communities They have

been complementedby Christian ritual specialists-priests,

ministers,and deacons, whoarefor themostpart also men

Ceremonies The major traditional ceremonies are birth,

circumcision, marriage,gradetaking, and death Of these

cir-cumcision and gradetaking arebyfarthemost spectacular

andprotracted In addition there is the unique rite of land

diving, performed annually atthe time ofthe yam harvest

This hasbecomeamajortouristspectade.Inpopular

repre-sentationthe athletic aspect ofdivingfroma 100-foottower

isemphasized, but the religous aspectisparamount for theSa

speakers,and thereisthoughttobeadirect link between the

success of the dive and thequalityof the yam harvest Young

menwhosodesire do thediving,fromplatformsatincreasing

heights withlianas tiedtotheir anklesto arresttheir fall.The

construction and ritual supervision involves older men

Women are notallowed to observe the tower until they dance

underneath it onthe day of the diving, although myth credits

a woman with being thefirst todevise the practice

Arts The major artisticexpressionsare woven mats and

baskets, body decoration, ephemeral ceremonial structures,

and, in the past, masks Musicalinstrumentsinclude plain slit

gongs,reed panpipes, and bamboo flutes.Guitarsand

ukule-les are also played, and local compositions aremuch

influ-encedby the string-bandmusicheardonradioandcassettes

Music and danceare central to mostceremonies and are

con-stantly being composed and reinterpreted There is also a

huge corpus of myths that are a source ofaesthetic delight

and are often accompanied by songs

Medicine. In thepast many illnesseswere seenas ancestral

vengeance for the breaking of rules ofsexualand rank

segre-gation.Thissometimes tookthe formofspirit possession

re-quiring exorcism Other remedies included curative spells,

amulets,and the useofawidepharmacopoeiaof herbs and

clays Medicine was often administered within the

house-hold, but if the treatment was unsuccessful the help of

diviners might be sought People are eclectic in integrating traditional andWesternmedicine, and they will typically try both There are local dispensaries and some health centers runbymissions orthe state, andincreasinglywomen are giv-ingbirth there Chronic or serious illness requires removal to

ahospital in SantoorPortVila

Death andAfterlife Death isusually seen as the result of attack by ancestors or sorcerers Close kin cluster in the house of thedying person and stroke him or her, wailing the mourning chant.Thebody of the deceased is wrapped in rit-ual finery and matsand then buried (previously below the house but now outside the village) At death crucial prestations are made to the mother's brother and other matrilateralkin Mourning consists of dress and food restric-tions,which are progressively relaxed until a feast is held on the hundredth day On the twentieth day the spirit of the dead person is thought to run down the mountain range in themiddle of the island and jump through a black cave into Lonwe, the subterranean village of the dead There all is heavenly: food comes without work, there are constant beau-tifulmelodies to dance to, and sweet perfumes fill the air See also Ambae, Malekula

Bibliography jolly,Margaret (1981) "People and Their Products in South Pentecost." In Vanuatu: Politics, Economics, and Ritual in Is-land Melanesia, edited by Michael Allen, 269-293 Sydney: Academic Press

Jolly, Margaret (1991) "Soaring Hawks and Grounded Per-sons:The Politics of Rank and Gender in North Vanuatu." In Big MenandGreat Men: Personifications of Powerin Melane-sia, edited by Maurice Godelier and Marilyn Strathem Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Van Trease, Howard (1987) The Politics of Land in Vanuatu: From Colony to Independence Suva, Fiji: University of the South Pacific, Institute of Pacific Studies

MARGARET JOLLY

Pintupi

ETHNONYM:Pintubi

Orientation Identification The term 'Pintupi" refers to a group of Australian Aboriginal hunting and gathering people origi-nally from the Western Desert region of Australia Their shared social identity derives not so much from linguistic or cultural practice but from common experience, destination, and settlement during successive waves of eastward migra-tions out of theirtraditional homelands to the outskirts of White settlements Pintupi is not an indigenous term for a

Pintupi 265

particular dialect norfor any sort of closedor autonomous

community

Location The traditionalterritory of thePintupiis inthe

GibsonDesert, inAustralia'swesternterritory.Thisterritory

isboundedbytheEhrenbergand WalterJamesrangesinthe

eastandsouth, respectively, bytheplainstothewestof

Jupi-terWellsinthewest,andbyLakeMackaytothenorth These

areas arepredominantly sandydesertlands, interspersedwith

gravelly plainandafew hills The climateisarid,rainfall

aver-agesonly20centimetersannually,andin some yearsthereis

no rainfall at all Daytime temperatures in summer reach

about 500Candnightsare warm,whilein winterthedaysare

milder butnightsmaybe coldenoughfor frosttoform.Water

is scarce here, and vegetation is limited The desert dunes

support spinifex and a few mulga trees, and on the gravel

plainsthere areoccasional stands of desert oaks Faunal

re-sources,too,arelimited-largegameanimalsinclude

kanga-roos, emus, andwallabies; smaller animals include feralcats

and rabbits Water is only periodically available on the

ground surface after rains; the people rely on rock and

claypan caches in the hills and underground soakages and

wellsin thegravel pan and sandydunes

Demnography Population figures for the Western Desert

peoplesas awholearedifficulttoobtain Thesparsely

popu-latedPintupiregionwasestimatedtosupportonepersonper

520square kilometers, butgiventhehighly mobile, flexible,

and circumstance-dependent nature of the designation

'Pintupi," it is difficult to come up with absolute numbers

Thepeoplesufferedapopulationlossduringtheyearsof

set-tlement in the east due to the unaccustomed overcrowding

andtoviolence thatarosebetween thePintupiandWhite

set-tlers and other Aboriginal groups

Linguistic Affiliation Pintupi is a member of the

Pama-Nyungan Language Family, also called the Western Desert

Language Family.

History and Cultural Relations

The Pintupiwere amongthe last of the Western Desert

peo-ples to experience the effects ofcontactwithWhites-prior

totheearly 1900s,mostoftheircontacts werewithother

peo-plesof -similar culture wholivedinadjacentterritoriesof the

desert With the establishment of White settlements in the

areas tothenorth,east,andwestofPintupiterritory, Pintupi

began to migrate to settlement outskirts, attracted by the

availabilityofwaterandfoodduringtimesofdrought. Inthe

early daysof thismigration,Pintupitendedtosettleincamps

separatefrom those of othermigrantssuchasthe Aranda and

Walpiri,butasthesecommunitiesgrewin response tofurther

droughts in the desert, the government began to establish

permanent camps Pintupi resisted integration into the

broader population of the camps, attempting to maintain

theirownseparatesettlementsapartfrom therestand

partici-pating minimallyin the affairs of the largersettlement The

trend since the late 1970s has been for thePintupito move

back toward their traditional Gibson Desertterritory,a

proc-essthat has been facilitatedbythedrillingofnewboreholes

atoutstationssothataccess topermanentwater sources may

be achieved

Settlements Pintupi.traditional lifeishighlymobile formostof theyear,

soencampmentsareonlytemporary, sometimessimply

over-night. Such camps are segregated by gender and marital

status:unmarriedmenandyouthslivein onecamp,with

sin-gle women in another nearby; each husband-wife pair and theiryoungchildrencamptogether. Thesecampstendtobe quite small Largeraggregatesofpeopleoccur atpermanent

water holes afterperiods ofheavy rains. Camp shelteris a

simple windbreak made of brush or, more recently,

corru-gated iron. The more sedentary settlements around bore holesarequitelarge-asmany as300to350people-butthe spatial deployment of individuals andfamily groups follows the pattern oftraditional encampments

Economy

Subsistence and Commercial Activities The Pintupi

weretraditionallyahuntingandgathering people.Australian Aboriginal policyincluded attemptstointroduce the concept

ofworkingfor awage, andPintupiwhocame tosettlements

were largely employed on cattle stations, working with the stock At present, most Pintupi are dependent upon

assis-tance payments from the Australian government

IndustrialArts Tools andimplementsoftraditional

man-ufacture include digging sticks and stone-cutting tools, boomerangs, spears,and spearthrowers Shelters usedtobe made of localmaterials,but nowtheyare constructed from

canvas orcorrugatediron. Mostmanufactureditemsareofa

ritual nature.

Divisionof Labor Forcommunal use, menhunt

kanga-roos,wallabies, andemuswhen suchareavailable; theyhunt feral cats, smaller marsupials, and rabbits at other times Womengather what plant food canbe found, honey ants,

grubs,and lizards Foodsoobtainedissharedthroughoutthe residential group Food preparation is considered to be a

woman's task, although men are capable ofit; likewise, the preparationand maintenanceof the tools necessaryfor food gatheringandhuntingis aman'sjob,butwomen cando such tasksifnecessary.

LandTenure Rightsin land referto Drearmtime associa-tions:that is,onehasarighttoliveinandusetheresourcesof

areas towhichone can tracetiesoffamilyorfriendship (the latter mostoftenbeingtreatedinkinship terms).One'sown

placeofbirth,ortheplaceswhereone's parentswereborn,

es-tablish claims-butnotclaimsto the landperse, simply to rightsofassociation with others who also use that land

Kinship

Kin Groups and Descent The Pintupi recognize two endogamous patrilineal moieties, which are crosscut by generational moieties, themselves consisting ofeight paired (as wife-giving/wife-taking) patrilineallydefinedsubsections These distinctions of relatedness donottranslateintorigid, on-the-ground groupings of individuals but rather provide the termsaccordingtowhichpeoplemayforgetieswithone

another, make claims for hospitality, or be initiated into

Dreaming lore

Kinship Terminolog Terminologically, Pintupi

differ-entiate initially according to subsection membership and

266 Pintupi

furtheraccordingtogender,that is,membersof asingle

sub-section arestyledassiblings,butwithinasubsectionthechil

dren of the set of 'brothers' are understoodtobelongto a

dif-ferent category than the children of thesetof "sisters."

Marriage and Family Marriage First marriages are generally arranged by the

parents, rather thanaccordingtothepreferencesof the

pro-spective spouses.A man approaching marriageable age will

begintotravel with the camp of his prospectivein-laws,

con-tributinghishuntingskillstotheir support Uponmarriage,

the husbandjoins the camp ofthewife's parentsuntil the

birthofthe first childorchildren,while the wifebegins

in-struction inher domesticresponsibilitiesand in women's

rit-uallore Oncechildrenareborn,however,thecouplewillset

up theirowndistinct camp Polygyny is common

Domestic Unit The Pintupi domestic unitminimally

con-sistsofaman, his wife or wives,andtheir children.However,

it is usual that there may also be one or more other

dependents-one or more of the husband's orwife'sparents

or awidowed sibling

Inheritance For the Pintupi, ritual associations with

Dreamingsites, which also imply rights to resource usage in

the associated territory, are theprinciplebenefits ofthe

con-cept of inheritance Such associations and rights are

normatively passed down patrilineally Portable personal

propertyisnegligibleamong the Pintupianditsdistribution

is notnormatively prescribed, except that it be given to

'dis-tant"kin becauseit isfeltthat'near"kinwould be reminded

oftheir griefby personaleffects of the deceased

Socialization Child rearingisthe province of the mother

duringthe earlyyears, but it tends to beshared by cowives

andother femalekinin the camp At this early stage, children

aretreatedwith greatindulgence,buttheyaretaughtearlyon

that principles of sharing and cooperation are important

Both male and female children are granted a great deal of

freedom Male initiation, by which young boys begin their

transformationtomanhood,involvesintroductioninto ritual

lore andcircumcision,afterwhichpoint theyembarkupon a

period of their lives when it isexpected thatthey will travel

widely In such a way young mendevelop broadersocial ties

and areexposed to greater amounts of ritual lore It is only

after marriage that womenbeginto beeducated into

"wom-en's business," the ritual lore held exclusively by women

There is no female counterparttothetraveling periodof male

youths

Sociopolitical Organization

SocialOrganization. Thepatrilineage isthelargest unit of

organizationoffunctionalsignificance for the Pintupi, and it

isinvokedprimarilyinthecontextofrituallife,injustifying

one's presence in aplace (throughreference to the

Dream-ing),and in markingtheintermarriageability ofmembers of

onegroup with another

Polidcal O izon. Pintupi egalitarianism militates

againstformalleadershiptoanygreatdegree Leadersare

eld-ers who areschooled in ritual lore and whoseskillin

achiev-ing consensus in anygathering has beenacknowledged.Since

few decisions inPintupi traditional life require the

involve-mentoflargenumbers ofpeople,the roleof aleaderis pri-marily to mediate disputes In the mission-based settlements, councillors also serve to keep the peace and to allocate government-provided resources, butthe concept of hierarchi-callyorganizedauthority is neithercustomary nor particularly comfortable for Pintupi

SocialControl Most socialcontrol iseffectedthrough the mediation of friends orkin, but there are some circumstances requiring the application ofcollective sanctions-primarily

in thecaseofviolations ofsacred tradition, such as the giving away of ritual secrets

Conflict Disputes between individuals can erupt at any time overany number ofdisagreements, but they tend to be most commonduringtimeswhen largenumbersofpeople are gathered together At such times, fighting canbreak out and may result in injury or evendeath.Disputes over women are common In disputes occurring between individuals, it is commonthat the aggrieved party will seekouthis opponent

tospearhim in thethigh, and he may commonly attempt to secure the support of his kin in this effort to seek revenge Acts of"sacrilege" arethe single most likely cause for larger-scalehostile action In thesedentarycommunities near mis-sionstations, the possibility of conflict, exacerbated by the availabilityofalcohol, is dramaticallyhigher than it is in tra-ditionalPintupi life

Religion and Expressive Culture

ReligiousBeliefs Centralto Pintupibeliefs is the Dream-ing(jukur7pa), accordingto whichtheworld was created and continues to beordered The Dreaming isboth past and pres-ent In itsunfolding-thatis,throughtheactivities ofthe an-cestral heroes-not only were the physical features of the worldcreated but also the social order according to which Pintupi life is conducted Particular geologic features of the terrain areunderstoodtobe thedirectresult of specific deeds

ofthese heroes Yet the Dreaming is also ongoing, providing theforcethat animates and maintains lifeandthe rituals that arerequired to renew or enrich that force

Religious Pracddoners Religious practitioners are patri-lineage elders,whosedepthof knowledge of the sacred tradi-tions of their patrilineand its totems qualifies them for the instruction of younger and less knowledgeable initiates The accumulation of ritual knowledge is somethingthat occurs overtime, as anindividual is gradually led deeper and deeper intothe secrets of ritual life Practitioners are responsible not only for transmitting this ritual knowledgeto younger genera-tions but also formaintaining the sacred sites and the spirits associated with them

Ceremonies Both men andwomenhave a rich store of ritual lore, linked to the Dreaming, withattendant ceremo-nies that are performedin the context of initiations and as a part of the process by which sacred sitesmaybe maintained

Aswith other Western Desert peoples, ceremonial occasions are tied to times andplaces where large numbers of people cancongregate-at water-hole encampments during periods

ofheavy rains, for example During these ceremonies there is singing,chanting, and the reenactment ofmythsappropriate

to the specific occasion

Arts Pintupi visualart, bodily adornment, and songs are tied to ritual practice,specificallyto theDreaming, and each

Pohnpei 267

mythhasspecificsignsand chants associated with it, asweli

asdramaticreenactmentsthatmustbeperformed.There has

beensomePintupiparticipationintheproductionandsale of

acrylic paintings of Western Desert themes to Australians

and Europeans interested inlocal art.

Medicine Traditionalcuringinvolvedsorceryandtheuse

of herbal remedies The Pintupi today avail themselves of

medical care provided through the Australian government

health services

Deathand Afterlife Behavior after the death ofa loved

one focuses on the griefof the deceased's survivors: people

abandon thesiteatwhich thedeathoccurred;losekin

dis-tribute the belongings of the deceased to more distant kin

(whose griefwillostensiblybemuchless);the bereaved

physi-cally harm themselves as an expression ofgrief; and 'sorry

fights"-.ritual attacks by relatives upon the deceased's

coresidents for theirfailuretopreventthe death-alsooccur.

Actualintermentof thebodyisdonebythemoredistant

rela-tives,for close kinarethoughttobetoogrief-strickento carry

out thenecessary work The spiritis thoughtto survive the

bodyandtoremainintheareaof this firstburial,only

depart-ingafterasecondceremonyisheld months later Where the

spiritultimatelygoes isvaguelydescribedas somewhere'up

in the sky."

See also: Aranda, Mardudjara, Ngatatjara, Warlpiri

Bibliography Hansen, K., and L Hansen (1974) Pintupi Kinship. Alice

Springs: Institute forAboriginal Development.

Myers, Fred R (1980). "TheCultural Basis ofPintupi

Poli-tics." Mankind 12:197-213

Myers, Fred R (1986) Pintupi Country, Pintupi Self.

Settle-ment, Place, and Politics among Western Desert Aborigines.

Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press

NANCY E GRATTON

Pohnpei

ETHNONYM: Ponape

Orientation

Identification Pohnpei is a high island in the Eastern

Caroline island group of Micronesia The name "Pohnpei"

means "upon a stone altar"; the people refer to themselves as

"Mehn Pohnpei" or "of Pohnpei.' Throughout the

nine-teenth and most of the twentieth centuries, the island was

known to the outside world as "Ponape.' In modern political

terms, Pohnpei Island and the neighboring atolls of Mokil,

Pingelap, Sapwuafik (formerly Ngatik), Nukuoro, and

four Caroline island groups that make up the Federated StatesofMicronesia

Location Pohnpei, lying at6'57' N, 158'14' E,is an

ex-posed tip of a submerged volcanic mountain. A protective barrier reef surroundsPohnpeiandcreates alagoonofvarying widththatcovers an areaofroughly207squarekilometers.A total offortysmall islands ofvolcanic and coral originrest on

orwithin the reef The landmass ofPohnpeiproper is336.7 squarekilometers The interior iscoveredbydense rain for-estsand ruggedmountains, the highestofwhichis 778 me-ters,runningwestand northwest A coastalplain,markedby ridges andvarious riversand streams, isfound to the south andeast.Thiisplain graduallygives waytomangroveswamps that hidethe shoreline To the northis awidevalleythatruns

toward the interior. Pohnpei is visited by heavy northeast trade winds betweenJanuaryand March Theislandissubject

to heavyrainfallthroughout the remainder of theyear.

Pre-cipitation alongthecoastaverages482centimetersayear;the

interior receivesconsiderablymore.Thelow-lyingclouds that

sit atop the mountains after a heavyrain create a majestic sightthat has impressed many a visitor.

Demography. Contact with Europeans brought many

newdiseasestoPohnpeiwithprofoundconsequences(e.g.,a

smallpox epidemic in 1854 reduced the population from about10,000tofewer than5,000).Thepast centuryhasseen

steady growth, however, and in 1988 the population of Pohnpei Island was estimated at 27,719, about 6,000 of whom live in Kolonia town, the center ofgovernment and

commercefor the island.Mostofthe residents of Koloniaare

from theneighboringatollsofPohnpeiStateorfrom other ar-easwithin thelargerFederated States ofMicronesia,ofwhich Pohnpeiisthecapital.Outside ofKolonia,theoverwhelming majority of the population is ethnically Pohnpeian.

LinguisticAffiliation Pohnpeian, of whichthereare two principaldialects,is classifiedas aNuclear Micronesian lan-guagewithin theEasternOceanicSubgroupof Austronesian languages.

History and Cultural Relations Oral traditions and scientific evidence indicate Pohnpei to

have been settled fromareas totheeast,south,andwest. Ar-chaeological evidence dates the earliest human activity at roughlythebeginningof the Christianera.Ofparticularnote

is the megalithic site of Nan Madol, located just off the southeastern shore ofPohnpei Archaeologistsestimatethat construction began sometime during the thirteenthcentury

A.D. and continued for aperiod ofapproximatelyfive

centu-ries. Local historiesspeakofaline ofrulers, theSaudeleurs, whoattemptedtodominate the islandfromNan Madol Fol-lowingthe fall of theSaudeleurs, theredevelopeda more de-centralized system ofchieftainship Bythe end ofthe

nine-teenth century, there were five chiefdoms coexisting with several smaller, autonomous regions that possessed a less stratifiedsystemofpoliticalorganization Intensifiedcontact

withtheEuropean-Americanworldinthe nineteenthcentury

brought trade, Christianity, newdiseases, and social

disrup-tion.One ofthemajorpatternsof thePohnpeian past,

how-ever,has beenapronounced abilitytoadapt constructivelyto

forces ofchange. Resistancetoforeigndomination has been another strong characteristic of this culture Pohnpeians

268 Pohnpei

resorted toviolent resistance against bothSpanish

(1886-1899) and German (1899-1914) colonial rule Pohnpeian

resistance to later Japanese (1914-1945) and American

(1945-1983) colonialism has involved less violent andmore

subtle cultural forms

Settlements Outside of Kolonia town, Pohnpeiansettlement patterns

re-main dispersed, with the majority of the population living

within halfamileofthe shore With the exception of

popula-donconcentrations in the AwakandWoneareas,there are

no hamlets orvillages Households are scattered and

rela-tivelydistant from one another Formerly,individual

dwell-ings wererectangularinshapewiththatched roofs,reedwalls,

dirt floors, andraised stone foundations.Thenalsor

com-munitymeetinghouse,withitspitched roof,opensides,and

raised seatingplatformsonthreesides,persistsasamajor

ar-chitectural form on theisland.Imported lumber,cement,and

tin have become the preferred building materials inrecent

years

Economy Subsistence and Commercial Activities The generally

rugged topography ofthe island, combined with the heavy

rainfall,works againstlarge-scaleagriculture,andasystemof

culturalvalues that places greater emphasis on social

rela-tionships thanonproductivityinhibitsgeneraleconomic

de-velopment; in addition, the infusion oflarge amounts of

Americanaid has causedproblems.Although purchasing

in-creasing amountsofimportedfoods, Pohnpeiansstilldepend

ontheir lushgardens andsurroundingwatersfordaily

suste-nance.Breadfruit,yams,taro,cassava,andsweetpotatoesare

the most commonfoodplantscultivatedontheisland.These

starchyfoodsaresupplementedwith fruitplantssuchas

co-conuts,bananas,mangoes,papayas,mountainapples,

avoca-dos, and variouskindsofcitrus Dogs,pigs,and chickensare

domestic animals that provide a source of protein for the

local diet Therearealso smaller numbers ofdeer,cows, and

goats More than 120 kinds of fish inhabit the waters off

Pohnpei;almost allareconsidered edible.Pohnpeians usually

fish within thelagoonandatnight,usingavariety offishing

techniquesincludingnets, spears,hooksandlines,andlocal

poisons Much ofPohnpei's subsistence activity centers on

anelaboratesystemoffeasting Thereexistdifferent feasts for

almost all of life's major events; therearealsofeaststohonor

chiefs andfamily heads Pigs, yams, and kava (sakau)remain

the threeprincipal feastingfoods While there have been

vari-ous attempts toestablishsmall industries, mostcommercial

enterprise centersonsmallstores inKolonia and the rural

ar-eas that sellimportedfoodsand merchandise.There arealso

markets that sell local produce

Industrial Arts Traditionally, eachhousehold produced

its ownclothingandimplementsaswellas itsfood This

ar-rangement ismuch less commontoday,asthepeople

increas-ingly rely onmanufactured goods

Trade In the past there was no trade as such among

Pohnpeiansbut ratheranemphasisongiftexchangesat once

determined by and expressive of social rank In the

mid-nineteenth century, European beachcombers and traders

es-tablished athrivingtradeinsuchgoodsastortoiseshells, for

which Pohnpeiansreceived muskets, gunpowder, steel tools, and tobacco

Division of Labor Men hunt, fish, build houses, hold jobs, and perform the heavieragricultural work involved in theraising of such prestige crops as yamsand sakau Women havethe primeresponsibilityfor raisingchildren, taking care

ofdomestic animals,washing and sewing clothes, and carry-ing outthelightergardeningchores Womenalso workinthe modern economicsectorprimarilyassecretaries or shopkeep-ers Bothsexescook,although men arecharged with prepar-ing the rock oven for feasts Men and women each possess specialized-sometimes even sex-specific-knowledge con-cerning songs, dances, chants, medicines, and traditional lore

Land Tenure In earliest times, land was controlled by matrilineal descent groups orclans thatresided in specific lo-cales.With theestablishment of a system of chieftainship, all land in a givenchiefdom theoretically came under the juris-diction of the paramount chief Individuals occupied small farmsteadsas tenants.The planting ofcrops onthe farmstead earned tenure and security for the land's occupants as any crops wereconsidered thepropertyof the person or persons who planted them An offering of first fruits to the local and paramountchiefs was required In 1907, the German colonial administrationremovedall land from the jurisdiction of the chiefs and deeded it to the actual occupants The German re-forms further specified that inheritance was to be patrilineal withall wealth andpropertygoing to theeldest surviving son Later, Japanese administrators revised the German system, permittingthe division ofparcelsof land among a number of heirs that could include female relatives These reforms pro-videthe basis for themodern land tenure system Competing land claims within family groups are a major source of friction

Kinship

Kin Groups and Descent While the immediate family has become the basicsocial unit, Pohnpeians remain mem-bers of clans that are named, matrilineally organized, exo-gamous, and nonlocalized Most clans are divided into subclans thatclaim descent from different female deities of themother clan Pressures brought on by modernization have diminished the role ofclans as a source of solidarity and support

Kinship Terminology The cousinterminology used is a modified Crowtypethat reflects Pohnpeiansociety's empha-sis on matrilinealrather than generational relationships

Marriage and Family Marriage. There are two forms of marriage on Pohnpei today Common marriage is accomplished simply by a cou-ple's decision to live together A real or legal marriage usually consists of a feast and a church service at which a man and a woman receive recognition and gifts from parents, chiefs, members of the extended families, friends, and fellow clanmembers.Modernmarriages are monogamous; divorce is rare In the past, thechiefly clansencouraged cross-cousin marriages in which a young man or young woman married a member of the father'sclan This practice helped ensure that both parental clans benefitedfromadivision of property in a

Pohnpei 269

society where descent was matrilineal and inheritance

patrilineal High-tidtled chiefsoften tookmorethanonewife

Thenobility also practiced infant betrothal

DomesticUnit The immediatefamilyisthebasic

domes-tic unit onPohnpei.Anaveragehouseholdconsistsofaman,

hiswife, theirchildren, and their children'soffspring.

Resi-denceisusually patrilocal.Thenotionofextendedfamilyis

also quite strong

Inheritance Inheritance is patrilineal Current practice

permits the division of property among all surviving heirs

Socialization Children are raised by both parents and

oldersiblings Adoptionisquitecommon,especially

arrange-mentsinvolvingchildlesscoupleswho desireanheir for their

propertyanda source oflabor and supportintheir old age

The practice of adoption also provides an inheritance to

younger childrenwho,asmembersofalargeimmediate

fam-ily, would otherwise receive only asmall portion of the

fa-ther's inheritable wealth Children are usually adopted by

members of theirparents'immediate families Despite

mod-em economic pressures,Pohnpeians still consider childrento

bea sourceofwealth and security;large familiesaredesired

Sociopolitical Organization

SocialOrganizatio. Pohnpeian societyisorderedby

con-siderationof rank and status, which derive from clan

mem-bershipand fromindividual merit The traditional distinction

betwennoble and commonerhas been softened Education,

employment, travel, and material wealth have become

in-creasingly importantdeterminants of modemstatus.

Political Orgnizton. Although it is a member ofthe

FederatedStatesofMicronesiaand hasamodemlocal

gov-emment that includes an elected governor, his

administra-tion, and apopularlychosenstatelegislature,Pohnpeiretains

its indigenous system ofpoliticalorganization The islandis

divided intofive separatechiefdomsthat alsoserve as

munici-palities formodem governmentalpurposes; eachisgoverned

by twodistinctchieflylines.Atthe head of the primaryruling

line of titles is the nahnmwarki or paramount chief The

nahnken, a'talking"oradministrativechief, leads the second

line ofruling tides.Different clans control thetwotitle lines

ineach ofthe five chiefdoms Intheory,theseniormale

mem-bers of the ruling clanssucceed to the tides ofnahnmwarki

and nahnken In actuality, political maneuvering,

circum-stance,and personal skills affect succession Each chiefdom

or wehi iscomposed of smaller administrativesectionscalled

kousapw.Eachkousapw is governed by two lines of tide

hold-ers that, in effect, mirror those of the larger chiefdom A

kousapwis,inturn,dividedintosmaller farmsteads knownas

peliensapt. Traditionally, the chiefs' most direct source of

power was theirclaimtojurisdictionoverallland contained

withintheirchiefdom More thanacentury and ahalf of

in-tensified contact with the larger world has workedtodiminish

the actual power ofthe island's chiefly system

Social Control OnPohnpei,social control ismaintained

through subscription to cultural values and practices that

stress deference, reserve, andaccommodation Wahu, or

re-spect, is afundamental valuethatcharacterizes personal

rela-tionships today A fear of social embarrassment leads

Pohnpeians tobehave witha reserveknownasmahk.Intimes

of stress, Pohnpeians are expected to evidence a patience

called kanengamah When grievous offense is given, Pohnpeiansseek reconciliationthroughaceremony called a tohmw This ceremonyusuallyincludesformalapologies and offerings of sakau to the offended parties and theirchiefs, family heads,and clan leaders Pohnpeians also honor, some-whatselectively, a Westernsystem of courts and laws Conflict Warfare didoccurbetween different chiefdoms

or regions Pitched battles, however, were rare; casualties tended tobelight Raids into enemy territory constituted the mostcommon form ofoverthostility. Causesofwarfare in-cluded disputes over access to resources, competition over the acquisition ofchieflytitles,oraffrontstochieflyhonor or clandignity Whatcrimethereistoday tendstobe petty in nature

Religion and Expressive Culture Religious Beliefs Prior to thearrival offoreign missionar-ies, thereexisted an elaborate system of religious beliefs Be-neath anorder of paramountdeities,therewere lesser spirits called eniwohs thatdirected themovementsofthe land,sky, and sea The spirits of the deceased,especially chiefs, were thought to involve themselves in the affairs of the living Varying beliefs indifferent areas added to the complexity of Pohnpei's religious system Nowadays, the island is divided equally between Roman Catholicism and a number of Protes-tant denominations, the largest of which is the Congrega-tional church.WhileChristianityhasdisplaced much of this system of indigenous beliefs, most Pohnpeians today still admit to the existenceof local spirits and to the efficacy of sorcery

Religious Practitioners In the past, priests called sam-woromediated between menandgods through a complex col-lection ofrituals and prayers Sorcery for both constructive and harmful purposes was practiced Today, American Jesuit missionaries,with thehelp of local deacons, direct the affairs

ofthe Catholic church Most Protestant churches are headed

by Pohnpeian pastors

Ceremonies Pohnpeianstoday follow the Christian reli-gious calendar Formerly, there were relireli-gious ceremonies at sacred spotsabout theisland to worship local deities, to se-curethebountyoftheland and sea, and to ensure success for

avariety ofhuman endeavors These ceremonies often were conducted upon stone altars called pei

Arts Many ofPohnpei's unique forms of artistic expres-sionhavebeen lost as a result of contact with the West Previ-ously, men carved fine canoes and built large, attractive meetinghouses, while women wove fine mats, chiefly belts, anddecorative headbands Tattooing was a highly refined art entrusted to women that served to record individual lineages and clan histories Musical instruments included the drum and nose flute Pohnpeian dance survives These dances, in which men stand and women sit, tend to be largely stationary andemphasize head and hand movements

Medicine Pohnpeians rely upon a combination of West-ernmedicine and local herbal remedies Massage is also be-lieved to have curative powers While acknowledging many Western medical practices andbeliefs, Pohnpeians still see much disease ascausedby sorceryortheviolation of cultural taboos

270 Pohnoei

Deathand Afterlife Pohnpeians possessa stoic,

accept-ingattitudetoward death The funeral feastisthelargest and

mostimportant form offeastheldontheislandtoday

Inter-ment usually takes placewithintwenty-fourhours ofdeath

The funeral feastlastsforfourdays Family members,fellow

clanmembers,anddosefriends remaintogetherfor an

addi-tional threedaysoffeasting A commemorative feastonthe

one-year anniversaryof theperson'sdeath marks the formal

end ofallmourning.Christianityhaschanged Pohnpeian

be-liefsregarding thenatureof life after death and thedwelling

places ofdeparted souls

SeealsoKapingamarangi, Nomoi, Truk

Bibliography Bascom, William R (1965) Ponape: A Pacific Economy in

Transition Anthropological Records, no 22.Berkeley:

Uni-versityof California

Hanlon, David (1988) UponaStone Altar: AHistory ofthe

Island of Pohnpeito 1980.Pacific IslandsMonographSeries,

no 5.Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press

Petersen, Glenn (1982).One Man Cannot Rule a Thousand:

Fission in aPohnpeian Chiefdom Studies inPacific

Anthro-pology Ann Arbor UniversityofMichigan Press

Riesenberg, Saul H (1968) The Native Polity of Ponape

Smithsonian ContributionstoAnthropology, vol 10

Wash-ington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution

DAVID HANLON

Pukapuka

ETHNONYMS: none

Orientation

Identification Pukapuka is a small Polynesian atoll

lo-catedamongthe northern atolls of the Cook Islands.Today,

dwellers on the atoll refer to themselves as "Pukapukan,"

though thename appears tolackaspecificmeaning inthe

in-digenous language.The traditionalnamefor the atollis'Te

Uluo teWatu,"which means"the head of the rock."

Location Pukapukaislocatedat165°50'Wby l1155' S,

whichmakes itroughly640 kilometers northeast ofSamoa

and1120kilometersnorthwest ofRarotonga.The total land

areaof the atoll is approximately 500 hectares; its highest

point is12meters.Thetropicalclimate hasan average mean

temperatureof27.9°C andanannualrainfall of284.1

centi-meters.Prevailing windsarefrom theeastand southeast

dur-ingMaythrough October,from the northand northwest

dur-ing November through April The island technically lies

outside the "hurricanebelt." Butithas beenravagedseveral

times byhurricanes in itshistory Consistingofarelatively

poor soil of sand and coral gravel, vegetation is somewhat limited compared to higher Polynesian islands Tropical plants and treesdo, however, growin reasonableabundance

inthe middle of the island.Tofacilitategrowth, banana trees andtaro plants needtobefertilized with leaves usually twice a year.Aconsiderable variety of fishexist-inthelagoon,near the reef, andinopen water-but theatoll seems to lack the large supply reported forcertainnorthern Cook Islands such

as Manihiki While Pukapukans report thatno dogs previ-ously existed on the island (and indeed, there is no tradi-tionalword forthem), archaeologists discovereddog bones froma site onthe atoll dated at 2310 B.P

Demography The 1976 Cook Islands census lists the atoll's total population as 785 with an additional 123 Pukapukans living on Nassau (a nearby island owned by Pukapuka).In 1974,Julia Hecht counted approximately 600 Pukapukans inNewZealand (mostlyinthe Aucklandarea) and another 200 in Rarotonga Decimated by a hurricane roughly 400 years ago, the atoll's population reputedly dropped to less than 50individuals It subsequently rebuilt it-self,butfollowingraidsbyblackbirders andanepidemic dur-ing the latterhalf of the nineteenth century, the population againdropped, thistime toaround300 Sincethen, it has in-creasedsteadily, reaching505in1902, 651 in 1936, and 732

in 1971

Linguistic Affiliation Pukapukan is classified within the Samoic-Outlier category of Polynesian languages While its closest relations are with Tokelauan and Samoan, it also shares linguisticfeatureswith languages of Eastern Polynesia

History and Cultural Relations From genealogical information, anthropologists Ernest and Pearl Beaglehole deduced that the island was settled around

1300 More recent archeological data (Chikamori and Yoshida) suggest the atoll was settled perhaps during the third century B.C Traditional accounts indicate that prior to Western contact immigrants camefrom two sources:Yayake and Manihiki Reports also describe voyages by Pukapukans

toother Polynesian islands, mostly to the west of the atoll, such asthe Tokelaus, Samoa, and Tonga Pukapuka was for-mally "discovered" by the West when Spanish explorers Alvaro de Mendafia and Pedro Quiros sighted the atoll in

1595.Byronsighted it again in 1765 Because the rocks sur-rounding the atoll made a landing dangerous, Byron called the atoll's three islets 'islands of danger," a phrase from which the name"Danger Island," still used on certain maps, derives In 1857 native missionaries from the London Mis-sionary Society landed on the island Pukapuka became a British protectorate in 1892 and in 1901 NewZealand took overits administration It was incorporated into theCook Is-lands in 1915 The Cook IsIs-lands became self-governing in in-ternal matters in 1965 The Beagleholes suggest Pukapukan culture shows strong affinities with both eastern and western Polynesia but, overall, is not part of the western Polynesian core

Settlements

The atoll consists of three major islets Permanentsettlement

is allowed only on one of these During the copra season, many Pukapukans live on the other islets, but when copra